There isn’t much to recommend about Suicide Squad, an ugly, incoherent and dizzyingly chaotic adaptation of the DC comic-book series. Set in the same universe as Batman and Superman, this side saga follows a collection of imprisoned supervillains who are recruited by a secret government agency in exchange for lighter sentences. If there is a gravitational force in the film—a stabilizing presence that mitigates the encroaching…  [more]

Kudos to believers who strive to vote like Christians. Some do so by electing candidates who best represent the Christian values they cherish most. Others do so by electing candidates whose overall approach to government they believe best serves the good of all. By voting in these ways, believers attempt to love and seek the peace of their neighbors. Unfortunately, many people who are attempting to vote Christianly are actually voting…  [more]

As a twentysomething college student and worship leader, I am in constant conversation about worship: what is it, how we present it, why we practice it, and when certain styles are appropriate. I was naturally curious, then, to attend an early screening of Hillsong: Let Hope Rise, a forthcoming documentary about the phenomenally popular and influential worship band Hillsong United. What started as a humble, Australian, junior-high rock band has…  [more]

I recently read this fascinating piece on Medium about how changes in audio technology have altered perceptions of live events, including political conventions. Mack Hagood, a professor of sound and media, says that the quality and variety of microphones and mixing technology allows sound engineers to use “huge digital mixers and signal compression to combine these many sources into a detailed surround-sound mix of both loud and quiet…  [more]

The day I spent riding shotgun in a cop car is one I’ll never forget. It wasn’t so much the thrill of going on calls, the wailing of the siren or “booking ’em.” (Besides, I’m pretty sure only one person was booked that day.) The real marvel was in watching my big brother do the work he’s called to do. My brother and I haven’t lived near one another since he joined the military when I was a little…  [more]

In my worship tradition it’s uncommon—in fact, pretty much unheard of—for someone to be so overtaken by the presence of the Holy Spirit as to surrender control of their body. I’ve never been “slain in the Spirit,” as some Christians describe it, or even witnessed it happening to another person. My lack of experience has led to some skepticism about so-called charismatic gifts and neo-Pentecostalism. Yet…  [more]

It was my first time seeing them in concert. The place was a box of a venue, smelling of wood and beer, with dim lighting. The X on the back of my hand, made with a Sharpie, told the bartenders, "Don't serve this girl alcohol." It didn't matter. I wasn't there for alcohol. I was there for two, stereotypical Jesus lookalikes whose voices cracked as they yelled and yodeled, then settled down into a peaceful croon. The Avett Brothers…  [more]

Amid an apocalyptic July, in which terrible events evoked the book of Revelation, it was comforting to see the book of Genesis figure in the news on at least two occasions. On July 7, the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Ky., opened to the public. And on July 17, the Iraqi marshlands, which lie at the confluence of the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers and are thought by many scholars to be the location of origin for the Garden of Eden, received…  [more]

Good worship is hard to find on television. Few characters go to church; even fewer series take the time to portray a three-dimensional Christian community. To that short list, add Greenleaf, which is in the middle of its first season on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN cable network. And give it bonus points for its lack of cynicism about faith, even as it serves up soapy plots about corruption, secrets, family rivalries and politics. Take its latest…  [more]

Were you to hurtle through The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum movies preparing for next week’s release of the series’ latest installment, Jason Bourne, your 2016 self would surely notice what your 2000s self might have only barely apprehended: Bourne’s search for his identity is increasingly subject to the gaze of a camera. The Bourne movies, in this way, track culture’s steady acceleration…  [more]